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Box Office: Swords, Sundays and Cucumbers on the High Seas

by Matt Bradshaw Jan 9th 2008 // 4:02PM

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Family Films, Box Office Predictions

For the third consecutive week National Treasure: Book of Secrets held the number one spot, with a total of $170.8 million to date. Most people who participated in our box office prediction contest last week, myself included, underestimated the power of a pregnant teen over talking chipmunks, with Juno taking the second place spot that many of us thought would go to Alvin and the Chipmunks.

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets: $20.2 million.
2. Juno: $15.8 million.
3. I Am Legend: $15.7 million.
4. Alvin and the Chipmunks: $15.5 million.
5. One Missed Call: $12.5 million.

This week we have three new releases, plus a film going into wider release.

First Sunday
What's It All About: Tracy Morgan and Ice Cube star in a comedy about two men who decide to rob a neighborhood church.
Why It Might Do Well: Morgan is a really funny guy.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Have you seen the trailer?
Number of Theaters: 2,000
Prediction: $9.5 million

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
What's It All About: A sword and sorcery film based on a video game starring Jason Statham as a man who sets out to rescue his wife and avenge the death of his son at the hands of a race of animal warriors.
Why It Might Do Well: An interesting cast including Burt Reynolds, Ron Perlman and Ray Liotta, combined with an aggressive ad campaign may attract audiences.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Director Uwe Bolle was also at the helm for House of the Dead, a film I would like to have surgically removed from my memory.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $7.5 million
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie
What's It All About: Vegetables, my friends. Talking, computer generated vegetables who give up their lives as busboys to travel back in time to the 17th century and become pirates.
Why It Might Do Well: Kids who enjoyed the Veggie Tales TV show and/or the previous film Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie will probably enjoy this one.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Kids are known for not liking vegetables.
Number of Theaters: 1,200
Prediction: $7 million

And although it's been in limited release since Christmas, this one is finally heading to a respectable number of theaters:

The Bucket List
What's It All About: Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play terminal cancer patients who compose a list of things they want to do before they die.
Why It Might Do Well: Both stars have considerable drawing power and the story looks like it could funny and life affirming.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Conversely, this type of script could easily stray into over sentiment, and one review I read used the word "schmaltzy."
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $14 million

For next week, I'm betting Juno completes its slow climb to number, beating out even this week's new releases.
1. Juno
2. The Bucket List
3. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
4. First Sunday
5. I Am Legend

And here's the results of last week's contest:
1. Bubba8193: 12
2. Matt: 10
2. Gregory Rubinstein: 10
2. Ray: 10
3. AJ: 9
4. Anna07: 8
4. James Wagner: 8
4. MCW: 8
5. Kevin D: 5

Join in on the fun. Post your predictions in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

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Tags: Cinema, Cinematical, First Sunday, FirstSunday, Movies, The Bucket List, TheBucketList

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